Boo: Way Back WhensDay: Grimace

Grimace today

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Kids today probably know who Ronald McDonald is, but I think he's the only character that's really on the forefront of the McDonald's marketing efforts.  When I was a kid there was a whole gang of characters, including Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, and Grimace.  That giant purple whatchamacallit was my favorite of the characters.  But little did I know his past is a bit spotty.

When he was first introduced to the world in the early 70's, Grimace was more monster like.  He had four arms and used the extra appendages to steal those yummy McDonald's milk shakes.  Until recently, I had no idea the lovable creature had such an evil streak.  However, clearly he was dimwitted in those early days too.

Evil Grimace

Like I mentioned, all the characters from those early days seem to have disappeared.  Ronald is the sole face now, but I will always remember the days of the cast of characters, including my favorite Grimace.  He proved that we all make mistakes and just because he had a shake addiction, he wasn't such a bad guy after all.